Our favourite Molly and Issa moments from S1-4 of Insecure
When speaking about the love of our life, we often think of romantic love and partners. But life sometimes gifts us our soulmate in the form of a best friend: a sister-homie-lover-friend who knows us better than anyone else, and loves us — unconditionally — in spite of ourselves. With Season 5 of Issa Rae’s award-winning Insecure now streaming on Showmax, we take a look back at some of our fondest Issa and Molly (Yvonne Orji) moments that highlight the magic, wonder and chaos of femme friendship.
Spoiler alert
Be sure to watch Seasons 1-4 of Insecure before reading this!
Hella Perspective: Season 2, Episode 8
This moment comes at the end of what has been a whirlwind and — literally — lit season. Issa has been grappling with the changing facts of her intimate life with Lawrence seemingly having moved on after their tumultuous breakup and the rapid gentrification of her neighbourhood. For Molly, married and messy Dro has entered the equation.
The end of the season represents that in-between phase many of us have struggled with in moments of confusing change and deep transition; when we are in-between how our lives used to be and what they could become, which is a theme we see in all seasons of Insecure. With both of their lives at a crossroads, Issa and Molly turn to each other for support and a moment of escape to — almost — Morocco in a moment of sisterhood, glorious to witness.
The two dine in at Molly’s apartment for a girls’ night to remember. They dress up, they break bread and they toast in a moment of self-made joy — beautifully rounded off by Frank Ocean’s “Biking” as the episode comes to an end and Frank sings: “When’s the last time I asked for some help that I couldn’t get from nobody else, yeah?”
Real As F**k: Season 1, Episode 7
Your mid-to-late 20s can be an unsettled time — your intimate world changes rapidly, with many beginning and endings taking place, sometimes over and over again. This can often leave one feeling untethered and “broken”, for lack of a better word. This is where we find both Molly and Issa in this episode, although in different ways, and dealing with — or not — tension within their own friendship.
It takes a lot of courage and cultivating of honesty to tell your friend a truth you know they won’t like but know they need to hear, for their own good. It’s this courage and honesty Issa taps into at a We Got Y’all fundraiser when, while talking to Molly about an old friend Molly had run into, Issa asks and says: “Did she say therapy was working for her though? Maybe talking through some s*** with someone isn’t the worst idea.”
Although Molly, not yet ready to face the truth and “do the work”, responds defensively to Issa’s expressed care and honesty, what touched me most was Issa’s trust in her and Molly’s love, knowing she could share her feelings regardless of how Molly would react.
Ghost Like: Season 3, Episode 8
No one, and I mean no one, has your back like your girls! There’s just something about femme-friendship and the way we show up that screams, “I’ve got you no matter what!” And we get to see this in action during this episode.
Nathan and Issa have met, and he has been MIA — essentially ghosting her — for some time now. The episode’s main event is Issa’s birthday and as Molly waits to pick her up, texting her, “Yo Birthday B*tch, your chariot awaits,” Nathan rolls up to Issa’s apartment apologetically with flowers in hand.
Swiftly getting out of her car to intercept him, Molly says, “What are you doing here? Does she know you’re here?” To which Nathan responds, “Nah!”. And Molly then asks, “Then why you here?” Before continuing: “Disappearing for a whole month, no calls, no texts. What the hell’s wrong with you? It’s her birthday and she’s happy, you’re not about to f*ck it up.”
Although Issa should have definitely been given the choice to decide for herself whether she wanted to speak to Nathan or not, I know she appreciated Molly’s defence of her, just as I would. In a world that often doesn’t care about protecting Black women, we become each other’s fierce protectors in all situations.
High Like: Season 3, Episode 5
Issa has left her job at We Got Y’all and is working as a Lyft driver to support herself. This episode sees the gang — all four of them — take a girls trip to Palm Springs for Coachella. Although there are no deeply emotive moments or issues being worked though in this episode, it gives us a moment to revel in the silliness and joy that is a part of Issa and Molly’s friendship.
The episode gives carefree Black girl magic from beginning to end, serving flirty fun, pool parties, day drinking and all manner of festival escapades. Although the episode doesn’t have a lot of moments focused just on Molly and Issa, it still gives viewers the blissful chance to see the two in a moment of shared joy reminiscent of the movie Girls Trip meets The Hangover.
Hella Disrespectful: Season 2, Episode 7
Season 2 is probably the season where we see Issa during her most chaotic phase, and episode 7’s theme is fittingly about disrespect. Being or feeling disrespected can come with all kinds of chaotic feelings you have to process, including anger, shame and resentment.
At the beginning of the episode, we hear how Issa felt disrespected by her new rebound fling, Daniel, through a conversation she has with Molly. And later we see her being disrespected by Lawrence, who brings his new rebound fling to the group’s birthday dinner — after finding out he’s also blocked her from social media.
The birthday dinner isn’t just tense for Issa, but for Molly as well. She has been having a fling with Dro, and now has to sit with him and his wife: talk about awkward! Although the tension is still thick between the two, they share a tender moment in the bathroom corridor, with Issa fixing Molly’s dress — post-Molly and Dro’s bathroom quickie — and Molly removes the price tag from Issa’s dress.
Sometimes, you disagree with your friends and their choices to the point of frustration, perhaps even anger. Yet you still show up, to have their back, removing price tags and readjusting dresses, to protect them against disrespect.
Where to stream all seasons of Insecure
Stream new weekly episodes of Season 5 on DStv online, and catch up on all previous seasons on Showmax.